Warm and secure
by R3dHoodie
Summary: On a rainy night, Marius finds Eponine crying about something. One thing leads to another and she ends up at his place, feeling warm and secure for the first time in a while. Throw in a subplot about Eponine and her thief days and one night might just lead to a new relationship.


It was about nine at night, way past her time to be home. At least that's what Eponine guessed. The light of the moon shining against the cobblestone streets had shown that it was later in the evening and the cold wind sending goosebumps up the brunette girl's arms only confirmed the fact. She had no coat. Her shawl that she had used when she was younger was paper thin. Her little blue hat was no more, sold when times got too tough. Actually, a lot of things got sold when times got too tough.

She sat against a wall, the pockets of her dress wrung inside out in frantic movements only a few minutes ago. With her chest against her knees and her arms hugging herself tightly, she cried freely where she was sure nobody could hear her. It had rained an hour before, her hair was wet and knotted. At least some of the dirt had been washed off her face.

If she knew that somebody was going to be there, she would've knocked on doors in a desperate attempt to loot. But she was considered of the lowest class. People knew the tricks that her family pulled, the tricks _she_ pulled when she needed something. Nobody anwsered doors when they called and hardly anybody had spoken to Eponine in years. She was a Thenarider, and Thenardier's were trash. Plain and simple.

Not that she wanted to be like this. If she could've she would've made a life on the streets. Sure she would still have to steal, but her name would be a clean slate for her to smudge or shine as she pleased. She would live a thousand lives to get rid of the one she was regretting living.

"Is somebody there?" She heard a voice a bit off, an unmistakable voice that brought a smile to her face even in the worst of times. But tonight the expression wouldn't come. She turned to the side and covered her face with her shawl, trying to hide her shame with the knitted peice of fabric. Hot tears continued to freefall down her face, falling onto her dress as they pleased. She didn't want her friend and crush to see her like this. She was supposed to be a rock, and rocks didn't cry.

"Go away!" Her voice shook and barely sounded loud enough to carry through an enclosed room, let alone outside of an arch and into the street. But he heard. Marius's footsteps turned into running ones. Eponine wanted to get up and leave, but something was keeping her behind. Maybe it was him and the comfort she knew he was going to bring? Maybe she wanted a friend. She had no clue whatsoever. But she turned and leaned her head against the cool wall and allowed him to kneel down beside her.

" 'Ponine, what's wrong?" She remained unnaturally quiet, only pointing to a small pile at her feet. It was what she pickpocketed that night and it wasn't much at all. A few assorted Francs lay in the pile, with some string and a few pieces of bread. She was usually good at the job, what with her innocent face and slender, quick fingers, but something had gone awry tonight. Marius looked up, asking kindly for an explanation without any words.

"I don't know!" She punctuated her words with cries, making Marius quickly wrap her cold form up in a hug. She continued. "Something just.. .changed and I thought about actually doing something with my life instead of pickpocketing. I just..." Her voice fell on the last sentence, trailing off. A deep breath escaped from her throat. "Stopped."

He held her back at arms length for a second, looking into her eyes. She wished he would just throw her to the side like any normal person, but instead, he seemed to be inspecting her at length. It frightened Eponine, she'd seen men do this to other girls and knew what happened to them later. But she knew that Marius would never be one of those men. He had helped her twice now, he was different. Refreshingly different. His blue eyes shone with concern.

"You're shivering." The young man's conclusion wasn't a profound one, she figured that she was but she couldn't do anything about it herself. The wind was blowing too strong and her emotions were too deeply run into her veins to stop this one. She could only nod in response. He let go of her and gently unwrapped the shawl from her shoulders, dabbing the tears from his friends face. He had all the manner of a nurse in this case, and the thief girl couldn't help but smile. He gave her a hug and rubbed her arms with his warm hands, acting as a heater.

"Thank you." It came out as a whisper against a small dab of wind off of the trees, but shown that he heard her by patting her on the back. Except now was another manner he had to take care of. He noticed something as he took off the shawl, something alarming. Her dress was getting too big. With Eponine not getting enough food as it was, this was worrying to the boy. She tried to take back the knitted fabric, but he held it away, placing it on the street.

"When was the last time you ate, 'Ponine?" He looked at her patiently, because it took a few seconds for her to remember the last time she ate a full meal. The Thenardier bit her chapped lips intently.

"A few days ago, I think." She seemed ashamed and he knew why. Food in her household was given as a reward. A reward for high tills or clean house. She always seemed to be working, something that bothered her friend of status to no end. He cared about her. It wasn't something to exactly say aloud in a circle of wealthy people, but he did. Not just pitied, he realized that he cared for her as one would a sister, or girlfriend. And he couldn't do that if she wasn't able to eat. A flash of a thought caught in his throat.

"Come with me. I can have Grandfather cook you a nice meal!" He stood up with his hands gently around her wrists, tugging as softly as possible to get her to do the same. But she hadn't moved an inch. Indeed, she looked and felt numb, too much to make any real movement.

"I- I can't." It wasn't like her to say no to a friend or a meal. Marius was surprised.

"Why, 'Ponine?"

"Because, I can do things on my own." Her voice was harsh, and she brought her fingers to her lips, startled at the outburst. Her brown eyes detracted downward in a way of shame. It was custom for her to do this when she had an outburst or did something wrong. He was used to it by now and even let out a smile at the familliar gesture. Marius didn't even care that she was harsh with him. The brown haired man retook her hand away from her face and held it again, feeling the coldness of the limb.

"What are you going to eat?" It was meant as a joke, but Marius realized with a sick feeling in his stomach that she was actually looking around. She wasn't going to be getting any food tonight from her parents. Whatever she shown him was it. Indeed, she picked up a piece of stale bread, only a few days short of being moldy. It had gotten wet from the rain and now looked plain soggy. Marius licked his pink lips. He knew she was going to be defiant and eat the bad morsel and then pretend she was fine. He heard her groan in headache or touch her stomach when it pained her though. He played the part and pretended that he didn't notice. It was like their game.

"I have my bread." He laughed at her stubbornness. It was a soft chuckle, but a chuckle in nature.

"You can't make a meal out of bread." He let go and picked up her till, placing it into his pocket. She sighed and allowed herself to stand. It had been longer than a few days -more like a week- and she _was_ hungry. Her stomach hurt awfully and she had a headache that crying only made worse. In fact, Eponine had to grab onto Marius's shirt as they started to walk, feeling an unatural dizziness. And he wasn't frightened by this either. He just gently held her hand and led her to his grandfathers.

* * *

A/N-this is going to be a two shot or a three chapter story. I hope you like it!

Thanks for reading :)


End file.
